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The week in pictures: June 23–29, 2012

In the past seven days, Cassini found a likely subsurface ocean on Saturn's moon Titan, astronomers witnessed an exoplanet’s atmosphere give off a powerful burst of
evaporation just after a violent flare on its parent star bathed it in intense X-ray
radiation, researchers discovered a point-like X-ray source racing away from
the center of a supernova remnant at millions of miles per hour, and more.

New way of probing exoplanet atmospheres: Tau Boötis b revealed

By tracing the changes in the planet’s motion as it orbits its star,
scientists have determined reliably for the first time that Tau Boötis b
orbits its host star at an angle of 44°, has a mass six times that of
Jupiter, and temperatures that decrease with altitude. Learn more »

Nearby star cluster discovered to be useful in studies of Sun and search for Earth-like planets

Multiple mergers generate ultraluminous infrared galaxy

Scientists conclude that Arp 220 comes from a multiple merger that
includes at least four galaxies, and they think this conclusion can be
applied to other galaxy groups. Learn more »

"The week in pictures" highlights the amazing discoveries and cutting-edge research that resulted in magnificent photos and illustrations in the past week's Astronomy.com News section. Scroll through the photos, comment on your favorites, and click links to learn more about the science behind the pictures. We hope "The week in pictures” will not only highlight all our beautiful universe has to offer but also summarize the important stories of the past seven days in case you missed anything.